Abhijit, Sandipan catch the eye

DUBAI, APRIL 23. Though Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte has kept Indian hopes high, it is Sandipan Chanda who has been attracting the maximum attention in the Dubai Open chess tournament currently underway here.

After gruelling six rounds of play, GM Jaan Ehlvest of Estonia and GM Karen Asrian of Armenia share the lead with 5 points each in the $ 30,000 tournament with the winner's purse being $ 5000.

Eight players, including Kunte, trail the leaders on 4.5 points followed by a pack of 17 players, including Sandipan, on four points each.

Double GM-norm holder Sandipan, who shocked second seed Valerij Filippov of Russia in the sixth round, has looked in a fine form after a slow start and has a very good chance of getting his final GM norm. Sandipan is to take on GM Mikhail Kobalija in the seventh round.

The spearhead of the Indian challenge, Abhijit has lived up to expectations with three victories and three draws so far. His last round victory over GM Al Modiahki of Qatar was particularly impressive as he systematically outplayed the Arabian numero uno from the black side of a Ruy Lopez Brayer variation.

Abhijit has a very deceptive playing style and tricks and outplays strong opposition from seemingly harmless positions. Modiahki thought he was exerting pressure on the queenside in the middlegame but found his queen trapped in the centre of the board. Abhijit next plays GM Safin Shukrat of Uzbekistan.

International Master in waiting Dinesh Kumar Sharma has had good results, given his rating performance. Dinesh needs to touch 2400 Elo rating points before being formally awarded the IM title by FIDE.

In the previous game Dinesh put up a spirited show to hold legendary GM Evgeny Sveshnikov of Russia from a pawn down endgame arising out of an Ivans gambit. Dinesh has thus far tallied 3.5 points and plays GM Veleri Neverov next.

IMs R.B. Ramesh and Neelotpal Das are the two Indians who seem to be struggling with their form. Both have 2.5 points and need to work hard in the remaining rounds to maintain their ratings.

C.S. Gokhale had a dismal 0.5/3 start but victories in the next three rounds have helped him tally a respectable score. Unfortunately, he has played two unrated players and that means he would not be able to get the coveted IM norm. IMs Rahul Shetty and T.S. Ravi have 3 points each after satisfactory results against strong opposition.

- PTI

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : Dingko's wrist still a worry
Next     : Roktim outwits Harish